What would Harry, Ron, and Hermione do?

I typically don’t stray outside Spuffy fandom on LJ, but the impression I’ve gotten over the past few months (and it could be wrong) is that S8- and let’s face it, mostly #39-40, ‘cause they were fine with the spacefrak- caused many Bangel fans disavow the comics, change their tune on the comics’ canonicity, or simply lose interest in the ship and series because they were so disgusted. It also seems as though even fans who didn’t like the comics to begin with have been turned off of fandom.

I don’t expect Spuffy to end up happily ever after.  However, I also can't imagine Buffy and Spike ever fading into a lukewarm, 100% platonic relationship.  So that begs the question, what will Joss do to ensure that they cannot be happy together?  Knowing the way Joss’s twisted little mind works, part of me thinks he’ll set up Spuffy on a grand scale only to knock it down in a horrible fashion, a la Twangel, so as to put both ships on even, scorched earth. Frankly, I’m not sure that Joss could ever do anything to destroy Spuffy as thoroughly as Bangel has been destroyed because Spike and Buffy have already dragged each other to hell and back. Barring Spike killing Dawn or actually raping Buffy, I’m not sure what he could do that would betray Buffy as much as Angel betrayed her (although I’ve probably jinxed it now that I’ve said that).

In any case, let’s suppose that Joss does his worst and ruins Spuffy as horribly as Bangel has been ruined- that Spike betrays Buffy as badly as Angel did. My question is, how would you, as a Spuffy fan, react? Would you be able to stay in fandom as usual and love Spuffy- TV Spuffy, S8 Spuffy, your own version of Spuffy, etc.- as whole-heartedly as ever? Would you be able to ignore the comics? Or would you be so disgusted that it would tarnish your love for any kind of Spuffy and make you want to leave fandom?

I’m not certain what effect it would have on me, but I think my Spuffy love would survive the trauma. Barring a miracle movie or show with all the actors, for me, canon will always have ended with NFA; so while I enjoyed the lovely Spuffy bits in S8, I wasn't and still am not heavily invested in the comics. However, I know there are Spuffy fans who take the comics a heck of a lot more seriously.

In conclusion, thoughts please: Whether you’re a fan of the comics or not, would a Spuffy implosion of Twangel proportions in the comics hurt your love? How do you think it would affect our awesome corner of fandom?

Title: For Want of A Back Porch (Alternate Ending)
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: These characters belong to Joss Whedon, and I am making no money, etc., etc.
Summary: Buffy used to worry that she couldn’t love. After Twilight, she's afraid to love. But can she and Spike just be friends? Buffy, Spike, and their balcony, with a side of Dawn and Xander. 5,500 words. Part I. Part II. Part III. Part IV-Original Ending.
A/N: This alternate ending exists because I can't help thinking that after Spike's untimely death in "Chosen," Buffy wouldn't waste a second in telling him she loved him if she had a second chance.  I posted my original ending because I love Dawn being bossy and proactive, but I also wanted to explore this second possibility where Buffy is proactive.  The new stuff starts in the MIDDLE of this post, when Buffy and Spike wake up in the morning.  The first half duplicates Part IV because I wanted each chapter to be able to stand on its own.


( Part IV - Alternate Ending )

Title: For Want of A Back Porch (4/4)
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: These characters belong to Joss Whedon, and I am making no money, etc., etc.
Summary: Buffy used to worry that she couldn’t love. After Twilight, she's afraid to love. But can she and Spike just be friends? Buffy, Spike, and their balcony, with a side of Dawn and Xander.  4,000 words.  Part I.  Part II.  Part III.
A/N: I changed the ending to this yesterday, which is much more impulsive than I usually am, but I thought that Buffy deserved to be more self-aware in the penultimate scene.  I hope it works.  I am considering writing an alternate ending in which Buffy is not only self-aware but also decides to share with the class.  You'll know what I mean, and if you have an opinion on that- such as, which you think is more realistic, would you want to read an alt ending, etc., please let me know.  I might write one just for my own gratification, but it would take a few weeks.

Thank you so much to everyone who has read and commented on previous parts.  Your feedback has been so generous and made me very happy.  This fic kind of poured out of me after #40 (it's been a while since I've felt such an impetus to write write write and tell a specific story), so I'm thrilled that you've enjoyed it.  Thank you.


( Part IV )

Title: For Want of A Back Porch (3/4)
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: These characters belong to Joss Whedon, and I am making no money, etc., etc.
Summary: Buffy used to worry that she couldn’t love. After Twilight, she's afraid to love. But can she and Spike just be friends? Buffy, Spike, and their balcony, with a side of Dawn and Xander. Part III is 5,700 words (the whole fic is 21,000 words and it is finished; updates every day or two).  Part II.  Part I.

( Part III )

Title: For Want of A Back Porch (2/4)
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: These characters belong to Joss Whedon, and I am making no money, etc., etc.
Summary: Buffy used to worry that she couldn’t love. After Twilight, she's afraid to love. But can she and Spike just be friends? Buffy, Spike, and their balcony, with a side of Dawn and Xander. Part II is 6,000 words (the whole fic is 21,000 words and it is finished; updates every day or two).  Part I is here.

( Part II )

Title: For Want of A Back Porch (1/4)
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: These characters belong to Joss Whedon, and I am making no money, etc., etc.
Summary: Buffy used to worry that she couldn’t love. After Twilight, she's afraid to love. But can she and Spike just be friends? Buffy, Spike, and their balcony, with a side of Dawn and Xander.  6,000 words (the whole fic is 21,000 words and it is finished; updates every day or two).

A/N: You don’t need to have read the comics to read this because I’ve only read issues 36-40, have minimal knowledge of what happened before that, and I wrote the darn thing. Here is S8 in a nutshell for any non-comic person who wants to read this anyway: Buffy and Angel frakked and it led to the apocalypse; Angel killed Giles; Buffy destroyed some mystical seed thing, thereby saving the world but also destroying all its magic; a few months later, she’s now living in San Francisco on Dawn and Xander’s couch. Meanwhile, Spike was a Big Damn Hero and Buffy fantasized about making love to him. It was gorgeous and beautiful (see the icon!) and so much better than the space porn, even if it was only in her head. I’ve set this fic starting about a month after #40 in the autumn; since I don’t know the timeline in the comics, autumn, or the Start of the Television Season, seemed as good a time as any.

Despite my usual flippancy about the comics, I did really enjoy #40 and have tried to write Buffy and Spike as realistically as possible according to the last arc and what I know.  I didn't change them up because of personal preferences.  In other words, they're not the same Buffy and Spike I usually write b/c the comic characters are, I think, very different from the canon TV-show characters.  Lastly, I’m sorry in advance to any diligent comic readers for any comic-related mistakes I’ve made.

And now that I've finished mine, I can go read other people's post-#40 fic!


( Part I )

Part II